THE former head of the magistrates’ courts service in North Wales could face being struck off by his professional body.

The move follows the decision by John Grant Jones to bring an end to his four-year fight to clear his name.

Mr Jones, from Bangor, had claimed his dismissal by the North Wales Magistrates’ Courts Committee for gross misconduct was unfair.

But last week, at an employment tribunal in Shrewsbury, he suddenly withdrew and the proceedings came to an unexpected end.

Yesterday a spokesman for the Solicitors’ Regulation Authority, the independent regulatory arm of the Law Society said: “As the tribunal is over, disciplinary proceedings will be resumed.

“It is certainly a possibility that the matter will be referred to the Solicitors’ Disciplinary Tribunal, and if he [John Grant Jones] is found guilty of certain irregularities then he could be struck off.”

The spokesman said that the fact that Mr Jones was no longer practising was no bar to the disciplinary proceedings.

Mr Jones, a former chairman of the Association of Justices’ Chief Executives for England and Wales, was sacked shortly before he was due to retire.

During the tribunal it emerged that he had awarded himself a £7,000 honorarium for taking on some of the work of a colleague who left for another post, and also awarded her an honorarium.

Members of the MCC also said they were surprised that he was still pursuing a claim for compensation for the loss of his job on reorganisation when they believed he had surrendered that right in return for enhancing his pension.

Though it was not part of the dismissal claim the members said they were taken aback when they realised that a restructuring of the North Wales staff would result in only one person – his wife – being promoted.

Neither Mr Jones nor the Ministry of Justice, which succeeded the Department of Constitutional Affairs , was prepared to comment, stating that they had signed a confidentiality agreement.

When the MCC formally dismissed the chief executive the committee wrote to the Law Society suggesting that disciplinary proceedings be considered.